Life is Hard When Your Half Plant
by TeenageNeko
Summary: ADOPTED BY ECHO UCHIHA.
1. The Birth of Zetsu

_**Life is Hard When you're Half Plant: Chapter One**_

It was raining again.

Masami Takaki ran through the streets of Konoha at full speed. The girl was rushing home so she could help her mom with dinner. She dashed past restaurants and an occasional shinobi who she'd wave to. Masami was set on reaching home at six o'clock because that was the time that her mom would normally start cooking.

The girl looked down at her watch. "I'm late," she muttered with a scowl.

Masami was seven years old. Being the smartest and prettiest, she was the "favorite child". She had two older siblings, Aki and Gina, who were currently on missions. She had light blonde hair which was pulled up in three pigtails, big blue eyes, and a small collection of baby fat, which gave her soft features.

Her parents, Chou and Hana, were fairly young and a somewhat popular in their part of the village.

She had on a simple blue smock and white sash tied around her waist. On her feet she had simple sandals. Her family was popular, but they weren't rich.

In her right hand she clutched a package of rice and in her left she held a hunk of fish which had been wrapped in newspaper. Another reason for her to get home fast: Dinner couldn't be made without the rice and fish, but that wasn't all.

Her mother needed protean to keep her healthy. It wasn't that she was fragile; in fact, her mom could whoop any man's butt if they got too close. The reason was she was having a baby.

Her mom had learned about her pregnancy six months ago, which had flown by as the family prepared for the next edition. Masami had tried to convince them to name him reed, but the name chosen was Zetsu. She had no clue what Zetsu meant, but she thought it was a nice name.

It took a lot of running, but she had arrived home at the desired time.

Inside, she found her mom setting out cooking supplies and her dad giving the details of his next mission.

"Hey daddy!" she squeaked and jumped into his lap.

Chou returned her gesture with a hug. "Did you have a good day?"

Masami nodded. "Yes! Granny Chika showed me a Jutsu that lets me put my chakra into plants and bring them back to life!" She pulled a flower out of the folds of her sash and held it up, "See? This flower is over a year old, but it looks freshly bloomed!"

"Don't you think that you're a little young to be learning jutsu's?" Hana asked with a little worry in her voice.

"Nonsense!" laughed Chou, "Aki leaned to summon mice when he was six and Gina could walk on water when she was Masami's age."

Hana thought hard, "That is true."

Masami jumped into the conversion, "Don't worry! I won't train too hard! I don't even need that much battle training because I'm going to open a flower shop!"

Hana gave a soft smile. "Very well. All I can say is work on your chakra control and don't skip lessons."

Masami saluted her. "Okey dokey!"

"Good. Now give me the fish and rice."

"Okay, let's cook!"

* * *

Halfway into cooking dinner, Hana noticed Masami staring at her. She looked at her daughter, "Is something wrong?"

Masami shook her head.

"Then what is it?"

Masami tapped her chin, "Well, you look…" she looked up at Hana with a smile."You look really pregnant!"

This caused Hana to burst out laughing.

Masami tilted her head, "Why are you laughing? Is it something I said?"

* * *

Chou walked through the door whistling; the ninja had just gotten back from his mission and was eager to see his family. The mission had been exciting, but relaxing at home beat slitting gut with kunai any day.

He was more than surprised when he walked into his normally happy home and found his wife crying on the couch. He dropped his knapsack by the door and ran over to her.

"Whats wrong?" he asked with concern written all over his face.

Hana looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Th-there's a terrible o-omen ab-about Zetsu."

Chou pulled her into a hug and began to rock back-and-forth. "Now," He cooed. "What about this omen made you so upset and who gave it?"

Hana wiped hey eyes and tried to speak clearly, "The omen was giving by my mother, Chika, it was about Zetsu being a…" her voice trailed off.

Chou gave her a shake. "What? About Zetsu being a what?"

Hana went to finish her sentence. "…a monster."

Chou gasped, and then got angry. "So you're just going to let her decide what our son's going to be? Maybe he'll be born disfigured or have an appendage of some sort, but that won't change who he is. Look at how excited Masami is! You'd ruin it by worrying about something your mom said?"

Hana was speechless.

Chou gave a nod. "Exactly. You can just tell your mother to stay out of our business and to think before she makes omens like that." With those words he walked away, leaving Hana alone.

She sighed and looked out the window. In a month, they'd find out what their baby was.

* * *

Masami skipped over to her mom. "Mommy," She sang. "This is for you!" she pressed a flower into Hana's hands.

The woman smiled and stuck the flower in her hair. "It's kind of you to bring me these, but you should save some for Zetsu."

Masami smiled, "Speaking of Zetsu…when's he coming out?"

Hana rubbed her large belly. "Any day now. Soon you'll have a nice little baby bro-OH GOD!" She grabbed her stomach and looked at Masami with big eyes. "Go get your father! Its time!"

Masami ran off. "I gotta get daddy," She muttered under her breath. She ran into Granny Chika. "Granny, have you seen my daddy Chou?"

The older woman frowned, "Why do you need him?"

"The baby is about to come out!" Masami exclaimed.

Chika hurried her along. "Then we can't keep your mother waiting. Come on, I remember the about to give birth feeling and it hurts like heck."

Masami nodded with a slightly disgusted look on her face.

Chika pointed to a figure in the distance. "There he is!"

She and Masami headed towards him at full speed.

Chou looked up just in time to see Masami and Chika grab the sleeves of his shirt and begin dragging him. "Hey!" he choked, "Cut that out!"

Chika gave him a thump on the head, "Cut that out, you baka! Your wives about to give birth!"

Chou got a really happy look on his face. "Really?" he dropped what he had been working on and ran home with Chika and Masami trailing behind him.

* * *

By the time they had arrived at the hospital, Hana was close to tears, she felt her child kicking hard inside of her belly.

Chou noticed her wince. "He really wants out, doesn't he?"

Hana nodded.

Chou gave her a quick kiss on her cheek, "Hang in there."

Hana gave a weak smiled in return. "I will."

"Come on! Let me watch!" wailed Masami.

Chika pulled her over and whispered something in her ear.

Masami covered her eyes. "Please take me home."

Chou laughed, "Don't leave yet, you want to see your brother, don't you?"

Masami nodded.

"Than wait outside." The blonde ran out the door and yelled, "Say hi to Zetsu for me!"

"You'll see him soon." Chou said with a smile.

Chika made a tut tut kind of noise, "You seem very happy."

The man looked surprised, "Why would I not be? My wife is about to bring someone new into the world."

Chika sighed, "You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Chou's smile flipped. "No." he said coldly, "I haven't."

The old woman nodded. "Good… I don't want my son-in-law to feel any disappointment."

Chou ignored her and locked eyes on his wife.

_Don't let her scare you Hana, _He thought. _Our son is going to turn out just fine._

* * *

At that time, Hana was…giving birth.

She bit her lip to fight off any pain and kept moving to her goal. That goal was to bring Zetsu into the world and after pushing and screaming, it was over.

Hana, with her eyes closed, listened to the doctors.

"What is it?" one asked in a horrified tone of voice.

"I don't know, but it's kind of disgusting." Squealed the nurse.

"Well, whatever it is, it's still a baby," The lead doctor said, closing the discussion. "Ma'am," He said. "Open your eyes."

Hana opened her eyes and looked down at the bundle in her lap.

"I think it's a boy," Stated the doctor.

Hana spotted something sticking out of the blanket, reaching over, she tugged on the corner.

Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

The child defiantly had one-of-a-kind looks. Half of him was black and the other side was white, his eyes were a piercing yellow and spiky green hair covered his head, but was the strangest of all was the strange plant-like appendage stuck to his waist, which reminded Hana of a Venus flytrap.

The baby yawned, displaying rows of sharp teeth, than began to gnaw the blankets tip.

Hana stared at the baby.

Millions of questions filled her mind. _Is this possible? What is he? Is he really mine?_ Sadly, only one question had an answer. He was hers.

She considered screaming, but she had lost her voice at the sight of him.

"Hana!"

She looked over her shoulder and saw Chou.

The man was excited, "How is he? Does he have my looks?"

Hana handed him the blanket. He frowned and gave Hana the 'are-you-kidding-me' Look.

Hana shook her head sadly, and then turned away.

Chou blinked in surprise, but made an effort to connect by ruffling Zetsu's hair. The strange child hardly paid attention; he was too busy looking at the light that hung from the ceiling.

Chika led Masami in.

"I'm a big sister!" Masami declared proudly, "Let's see him!"

Chika's gaze burned right through Chou and focused on the baby. "Yeah," She said mockingly. "Let's see him."

Chou knelt by Masami and held the bundle at her level.

The girl stared at her brother for a moment, then slowly reached over and touched his cheek. She smiled, "He sure is funny looking. He looks like a clown!" she gave an innocent look to Chou, "Can I hold him?"

Chou hesitated, but handed Zetsu to his daughter.

She cradled him in her arms and looked down at him with compassion in her eyes. "Let's keep him."

* * *

Hana looked at Zetsu; the baby was fast asleep in his crib.

"Mommy."

Hana turned around, "Masami! What are you doing out of bed!"

Masami walked over to the crib and slumped up against the wall next to it. "I couldn't sleep; I wanna sleep with you and Zetsu."

Hana's eyes softened. She left the room and came back with a blanket. She sat down, and cleaned up against the wall by Masami. "Fine, but when you fall asleep, I'm putting you in your bed."

Masami yawned, "Agreed."

Hana looked down at Masami; the child had been tugging on her sleeve.

"Mommy?"

"Yes Masami?"

The girl crawled into her lap and snuggled under the blanket, "I like being the big sister."

Hana smiled, "That's nice."

The night pressed on with mother and child curled up together.

The next few years were hard, with Chou being killed in the Kyuubi attack, Masami maturing, and Aki and Gin drifting away, but they made it through. The family thinned out to Hana, Masami and Zetsu, but their bond was just as strong. Zetsu had thought that he had seen the worst, he was about to discover that the life he had been living would only get harder.

The ninja academy is a rough place, especially for "freaks".

* * *

**If you read the story, please leave a review. ****Flames are welcome, just not too mean.**

**~Love, TeenageNeko**


	2. The Ninja Academy

_**Life is Hard When your Half Plant: Chapter Two**_

It was raining like it did eight years ago.

Zetsu ran down the streets as fast as his feet could carry him. The large appendage on his waist threatened to throw him off balance, but he managed to stay on his feet.

The reason for his hurrying was that he needed to get to his sister's flower shop; he had promised to help out after school.

He didn't actually go to school; he was homeschooled by Granny Chika, who had been happy to help lighten his mothers load.

He had never been around other children, he had Masami, but she was already a teenager. The boy didn't really mind not being around anyone besides his family, in fact, he preferred it that way.

His sister's flower shop, which she had proudly named Takaki Flowers, was several minutes away from their Granny's house.

His sister had changed over the years, her once short hair now curled past her waist and her once flat chest was, well, much MUCH bigger. Not Tsunade big, but getting there. What hadn't changed was the affection that she had for him as a little brother.

He arrived at the shop and dashed through the door. Masami greeted him with a smile, "Hi Zetsu. How's Granny Chika doing?"

Zetsu grabbed his work apron off its hanger and answered, "She's doing well. We worked on Chakra control and I finally know what ludicrous means."

Masami gave a laugh. "Well, what does it mean?"

Zetsu scowled, "It's nothing but another word for ridiculous! I spent a lot of time wondering and all it means is ridiculous!"

Masami ruffled his hair. "At least it won't haunt you anymore."

"It didn't haunt me, I just wondered about it a lot."

Masami nodded. "Alright, you wouldn't mind watering the plants in the back, would you? They seem to like you more than me."

Zetsu raised his eyebrow. "How do plants like people? I know they're living and all…"

Masami tapped his flytrap appendage with a smirk. "You like me don't you?"

Zetsu nodded.

"There you go!" she said teasingly. "Plants can like people!"

It took him a minute, but Zetsu eventually figured out the joke.

"Hey!" he said angrily. "That's not funny!"

Masami hurried him to the back. "Never mind that! Get to work."

Zetsu nodded, than started watering the plants.

After a while it got boring and Zetsu began to wonder if plants really did like him. As a test, he held a leave up to his skin, and then yanked it off. He didn't notice any changes in the leaves appearance or any chakra flow, so he came to the conclusion that his sister had been teasing him.

* * *

After a long day, they set off for home.

Masami looked at him. "Zetsu?"

He looked up.

"Do you miss dad?"

Zetsu hung his head. "I don't know. I never knew him, so I don't know what he was like." He looked at Masami. "What was he like?"

His sister closed her eyes. "Well, he was carefree, handsome and smart and when you needed him, he was strong, determined and brave. He went down as ninja. You never knew him, but you should be proud of him anyways."

"I will," Zetsu said quietly.

The siblings walked home in silence for most of the way, until Zetsu noticed several guys staring at his sister. He tapped Masami on the shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Masami, those boys over there are looking at you funny."

Masami narrowed her eyes. "Looks like they're checking me out. Those boys have got to learn that I'm taken." The girl straightened her back and stomped over to them.

The largest boy walked over to meet her. "Hey babe!" he called.

Masami walked right past him and put her hands on her hips. "Listen up!" she said firmly. "My brother saw you looking at me, is that true?"

One boy made an effort to answer, "Well…we uh…"

Masami tried to keep eye contact with him, but the boys eyes were focused on something a bit lower and much larger. Masami saw what he was looking at and smacked him on the cheek.

She stomped back over to Zetsu and looked over her shoulder to give them all death glares.

"I'm taken!" she yelled angrily.

Zetsu gave a soft chuckle. "So, who do you love? You told the boys that you're taken, who took you?"

Masami smiled. "My job. I'm simply in love with what I do."

* * *

Zetsu and Masami walked through the door just in time to see their mom set the last of dinner on the table.

"Perfect timing," Hana remarked while setting out plates. She looked up from the table and smiled. "How was you guys day?"

Masami took a seat and let out a sigh. "Well!" she said. "Those boys were checking me out again. They just don't get the point."

Hana laughed out loud. "It's kind of funny. When I was your age, all I wanted was for boy's to look at me with love in their eyes."

Zetsu broke the conversion. "Can we talk about something else?"

Hana and Masami nodded eagerly.

"Alright," Hana said. "How about the ninja academy."

Zetsu gulped, "What about it?"

Masami stopped toying with her fork. "That's right! Zetsu, you're old enough to join!"

The plant boy tapped his fingers together, "I am, but…"

Masami frowned. "But what?"

Zetsu looked down at his feet. "What if I'm not good enough? What if the kids make fun of me? What if they don't even like me?"

"I knew this would happen eventually," Hana muttered. She looked at Zetsu with an encouraging look on her face. "Zetsu, you don't need to worry about what other people think about you. Chika told me that your chakra control is above the level it should be, so you're strong enough. Just follow the rules and try your best."

Zetsu gave a hopeful smile. "Okay. I'll try my best."

* * *

The day came where it was to enroll in the academy.

Zetsu strolled over to Masami in his new uniform. Finding clothes to fit him had been difficult, but he and Masami had managed to throw something together the day before.

The outfit consisted of a green tank top, black ninja pants and sandals.

Before he left, his mother had taken his picture and gave him the "I'm so proud of you" speech.

He felt relief when he and Masami had set off for the academy, which was pretty far from their part of the village.

"You are Takaki Zetsu, right?" Iruka asked.

Zetsu nodded. "That's me."

Masami handed Iruka an envelope. "There," She said. "Zetsu's birth certificate and registration papers." She turned to leave, than looked over her shoulder. "That's everything you need, right?"

Iruka nodded. "Yeah, you can go now."

The girl smiled. "Good. I need to open up my store, I'm an hour late." She waved to her brother. "Goodbye Zetsu! Make me proud!"

* * *

"Alright class!"

No one listened.

"Class!"

Nothing.

"LISTEN UP CLASS!" Everyone ran to their seats and sat down. "That's better." Iruka motioned for Zetsu to come in. "We have a new student; I want you to make him feel welcomed."

Zetsu slowly walked in. Students began to point and whisper to each other the second he came into view.

Iruka tapped his desk, "Settle down!" he looked at Zetsu, "Please introduce yourself."

Zetsu opened his mouth to speak, "I…I'm…" His eyes wondered around the room nervously. He tried to keep himself from looking anyone in the eye. His gaze fell on a pink haired girl in the back row, and they made eye contact. It was like a shock went through him, a shock of embarrassment.

His flytrap thing closed, covering his face and upper body.

* * *

Iruka was a bit surprised, like the rest of the class.

Zetsu stood there with his appendage closed and legs shaking. Right away Iruka guessed that it was done out of embarrassment, he was right. He reached out and tapped the surface, "Zetsu? Open up." Iruka heard some sort of mumbling and strained to hear. "What was that?"

The appendage opened to a crack. "They're all looking at me."

Iruka gave a smile, "You're the new student, and of course they're looking at you."

"But they're looking at me funny," Zetsu whimpered.

Iruka sighed.

_Well, _He thought. _I should've known that this would come up._

He cleared his throat, "Zetsu, open up and show your face."

The flytrap opened a little wider, showing Zetsu's eyes, which gave a faint glow.

"Wider."

It slowly opened till his whole head and part of his torso was in view.

"Good," Iruka said. "Now tell the class your name."

Zetsu said it quietly, "My name is Takaki Zetsu."

Iruka patted him on the back. "Good." His eye's scanned the rows for an empty seat. "There." He gave Zetsu a little nudge. "Go sit by Lee."

Zetsu trudged over to the seat and sat down.

Lee took his presence in. "I am Rock Lee!" he exclaimed.

Zetsu looked up at him.

The boy possessed thick, bushy eyebrows and round eyes, his hair was pulled back in a short braid and he wore a Japanese top and ninja pants.

"You can call me Zetsu," Zetsu said softly.

Lee grinned, displaying white, shiny teeth. "Wonderful! I can tell that we are going to be great friends!"

His classmate's joy brought a smile to the plant boy's face. Lee was happy, not scared, and glad to be around him.

* * *

"You are kind of like me. I do not really look too different, but I have no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu."

Zetsu gasped, "No Ninjutsu?"

Lee shook his head. "Nope! Not a single technique!"

Zetsu breathed deeply, "I don't know what I would do if I had no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu."

Lee laughed, "Nonsense! You would make it just fine, like me! Because I have my Taijutsu!" to add on to that he gave the air a few quick jabs. "Like that!"

Zetsu smiled, "I'm not good at Taijutsu and my Genjutsu needs a lot of work, but my Ninjutsu is pretty strong!"

"Really?" Lee asked, "What moves can you use?"

Zetsu looked around, than sighed. "There are too many people here, I'll show you some other time."

Lee gave him thumbs up. "Awesome! I cannot wait!"

"Everyone come back to the classroom!"

Lee grabbed Zetsu's arm. "Come on!" he yelled, "Let us go!"

* * *

"Okay," Iruka said. "We're not shinobi yet, but we need to have some fighting skills down. I'm going to put you in teams and you'll spar with each other. You may use Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, I won't allow any Genjutsu. That takes too much chakra."

Zetsu listened as Iruka read names off the list. "…and for the last group, we'll have Zetsu, Sakura, Sasuke and Lee." Zetsu grinned.

_Finally a chance to show my moves! _He thought happily.

All of the young ninja's scrambled to their groups and waited for Iruka to tell them where to go.

Zetsu spotted the pink haired girl heading towards him, he began to sweat.

"You're Zetsu?" she asked.

He nodded.

"I'm Sakura."

Soon, Sasuke and Lee had joined the group and Iruka led them to a field where they could spar.

"Okay," Sasuke said with authority in his voice. "I think Lee should face Sakura because they're the weakest, and I should fight Zetsu."

Zetsu gulped.

"Lee and Sakura should go first."

Sasuke gave Lee a push.

Sakura walked over to meet him; Lee blushed as soon as they made eye contact.

"Sakur-" he began. Her fist caught him on the jaw.

The pinkette stood over him, "I thought we were going to spar." She gave Sasuke a wink then charged at Lee.

The boy dodged her blow and sent a kick in her direction; it hit her in the stomach and sent her flying back.

Lee ran in for the final blow, and then suddenly, he stopped.

Zetsu yelled, "Earth to Lee! What are you doing?"

The ninja stood completely still, allowing Sakura to win the fight.

Sasuke looked down at him with an I'm-better-than-you face. "How pathetic."

The Uchiha motioned for Zetsu to fight. "Come on; let's see your Ninjutsu plant-boy."

Zetsu bit his lip.

_I didn't think I'd have to fight him! My technique would take too long to use against him, darn it, I'll have to try using Taijutsu._

Zetsu charged at Sasuke with his fists poised to punch, he lashed out and hit nothing but air.

The raven haired boy kicked him in the stomach, hard. The impact sent Zetsu flying back.

Sasuke smirked, "Piece of cake!" he ran in for the kill.

Zetsu got up felling relieved that his flytrap had absorbed part of the blow, he ran to fight Sasuke.

The two boys continued to battle on with Sakura and Lee watching from a distance. As time passed, Sasuke began to get frustrated.

"Ugh!" he growled, "I've had enough!" he formed a few hand signs.

Zetsu went wide-eyed.

"FIREBALL JUTSU!"

The flames sped towards Zetsu, burning everything in its way.

_Here goes nothing!_ He closed his flytrap and straightened his back, he felt himself slowly sink into the ground.

"Mayfly," He whispered to himself.

It took a minute, but he managed to merge with the ground, keeping his body away from the flames.

He heard Sasuke's angered voice, "Where the heck is he!"

Zetsu emerged from the ground.

"I'm right here!" he called.

His sudden appearance earned an angered look from Sasuke, a shocked look from Sakura and a surprised look from Lee.

"That's quite a move," Muttered Sasuke. "But mine's better."

The Uchiha dashed at Zetsu, he looked just about ready to smack the crap out of him. His fists were curled up, as if to punch, but when he struck, he kicked. The kick caught Zetsu off guard, and inured him in his leg.

Zetsu yelped in pain and hit the ground. He glanced up and saw Sasuke closing in for, yet another blow. The large flytrap closed, its jaws clamped down on Sasuke's arm.

Zetsu squeezed his eyes shut.

_"Please tell me that I didn't hurt him."_

Something warm dripped onto neck.

Blood.

Sasuke yet out an injured cry when Zetsu opened his appendage. He grabbed his arm and hugged it to his chest, then dropped to his knees.

Zetsu's lip began to quiver when he saw blood dripping down his opponent's elbow.

Sakura run over to Sasuke with horror written all over her face. She looked at Zetsu angrily.

"Y-you monster!" she yelled.

Lee came to Zetsu's defense. "I am sure that is was an accident! Besides, Sasuke attempted to fry him! He was only defending himself!"

Iruka ran over to them. "I heard Sasuke yell…" his voice trailed off when he saw the blood. He looked at Zetsu. "Zetsu, I need to have a word with you."

Lee stomped his foot. "It is not Zetsu's fault! He was only defending himself!"

Iruka waved his hands, "Calm down Lee. Zetsu isn't in trouble; I just want to talk to him."

Lee crossed his arms over his chest, "Fine."

"Zetsu." Iruka motioned for Zetsu to follow him. "Come with me."

* * *

"Can you tell me why you hurt Sasuke?"

"I panicked! I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt him."

Iruka shook his head. "Zetsu, you have to be more careful with that…thing."

Zetsu winced at Iruka's words.

"Yeah," He said sadly."I will."

* * *

Masami looked down at her little brother. "Zetsu, would you like to go get some ramen? That'll cheer you up."

Zetsu nodded, "Sure."

The siblings walked to the ramen shop in silence, which was broken when a certain blonde came into view.

**

* * *

**

Next Time

"Wow!You are one creepy looking dude!" exclaimed the blonde.

Zetsu growled, "I have a name. It's Zetsu."

"Really? I'm Naruto and I lo-"

Masami interupted him.

"Um, can we just get our ramen and leave?"

* * *

**I hope that my grammer didn't suck too badly. ****This is my first time writing a long story, so I'm not that good.**

**~Love, TeenageNeko**


	3. Author's Note: Important!

_**Dear Readers,**_

_I haven't updated in over a month….oops. Well, I have some other fics that are close to being done and several ideas that are haunting me. I keep switching fandoms—it was Naruto to Death Note to Bleach to Naruto to Fullmetal Alchemist to D. Gray - Man! Now, Naruto is my second favorite (behind D. Gray - Man) and I can't stand Death Note! How crazy is that!_

_I am still a Narutard, therefore, I shall never cancel this fic. I love Zetsu way too much!_

_I'd like to thank/apologize my reviewers._

_Thank you Imaginationgirl12, Narutard 101, Zetsu-is-mine-baka's!, Creepingshadow, Fear the Silly People and MarzaPanda._

_A super special thank you goes to MarzaPanda for being the first one to review! She's also my Beta!_

_I need to finish my other stories and possibly get the ideas out of my head and into FanFiction, so yeah…..a nice long break. I will work on chapters over the break_

**_TeenageNeko, out_.**


	4. Grudges Resolved

_**Life is Hard When Your Half Plant: Chapter Three**_

Zetsu swung his feet playfully.

He had seated himself at the counter while Masami was fumbling through her purse. Unfortunately, her wallet was nowhere to be found. With a sigh, he hopped off of the stool and padded over to her. He tugged on her shirt. "Uh, we can leave if you've lost your wallet…."

A loud voice cut through the chaos. "I'll pay for her! I have two ramen coupons!"

Zetsu looked at the newcomer with a curious look on his face. The person who offered to pay for Masami was a boy about his age with blond hair.

"Wow…."

Zetsu tilted his head. "What…?"

"WOW!" exclaimed the blond. "You are one creep looking dude!"

Zetsu growled, "I have a name. It's Zetsu."

"Really? Cool! I'm Naruto and I lo-" Masami cut him off. "Um, can we just get our ramen and leave?"

Zetsu winced at the venom in his sister's voice. She had snapped out with a harsh look planted on her face. For a second, he was confused. Masami never snapped at kids… That just wasn't…Masami-ish. He looked up at her and saw the hate burning in her eyes. Did she hate him or something?

"Are you going to stand there all day or do you want the stinkin' coupon?"

With a final glare, Masami grabbed Zetsu's hand and pulled him away.

"Come on, we'll eat at home."

"Okay?"

* * *

The walk home was a quiet one, also a tad awkward.

Zetsu stole a glance at Masami and to his surprise; tears were rolling down her face. He grabbed her arm and frowned. "Masami," he said. "Something happened back there…" he furrowed his brow. "Tell me what happened between you and Naruto."

Masami bit her lip. She began fiddling with her hair, an expression crossed between confused, hate and nervous on her face. "Uh, it's complicated… I'd rather not tell you anything….." Her answer brought a larger frown to Zetsu's face. He let go of her arm and crossed his own over his chest. With a sigh, he issued a challenge, "Masami, if I win in a sparring match with you….would you tell me?"

His request shocked Masami. She looked at him with wide eyes. There was another short period of silence, but after awhile she did say yes.

"Okay…. Begin."

Zetsu threw a punch at his sister. His fist struck her face, but to his surprise she didn't move….or even flinch.

"What the…?"

**BAM!**

Her fist collided with his face. For a second he lost control over his body, taking clumsy steps and randomly swatting the air. With a cry, he regained control over his body. He dashed at her, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

His attacks proved useless, she was way too fast. "How the heck can she do that?"

"Chakra control."

He looked up, taken back by her sudden statement. With a sigh she continued, "I focus all my Chakra in the area that's hit and then in my feet. So basically I'm like a human shield, other than that I only have Taijutsu so you should be good." She smiled. "Continue!"

Zetsu grinned. Their fight was getting interesting. He launched himself at her with his fists positioned to strike her directly in her face. She used her "human shield" technique.

"Man!" yelled Zetsu. "I was so close!" His grin grew wider, determination spreading through him. That fight hadn't just gotten interesting, it had also gotten fun.

Masami swung her leg and hit Zetsu on his back. He gasped and dropped to the ground. With a smile, Masami declared herself the winner. "I win, you lose. Tough luck."

Without warning, he jumped up and grabbed her shoulders. He threw himself on her with a furious battle cry. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

* * *

Hana blinked in surprise.

She hadn't quite expected to find her children fighting. They had fought as if they were trying to kill each other… That scared her. With a yell she ran to them. "Masami! Zetsu!"

The dust cleared, revealing the siblings. They weren't trying to kill each other, in fact, they were hugging.

"So now you know," sniffed Masami, burying her face in Zetsu's shirt. "I- I know holding a grudge wouldn't bring dad back, but I couldn't stop hurting…"

"Everyone makes mistakes," whispered Zetsu, the images of Sasuke lying on the ground bleeding filling his mind. "Everyone makes mistakes, b-but you learn from them… and when it happens again…"

Hana slowly turned around. Her worries had left after witnessing the affectionate display. _Well… They're turning out quite alright…Chou._

* * *

Zetsu looked at Masami. "So…Naruto has the spirit of the Nine-tailed fox sealed…inside of him? And you were mad at him because the Kyuubi killed dad?"

"Yeah, I just said that."

Zetsu sighed, rubbing his temples. "I know, I know, I was just making sure that I heard right. Sealed? Ugh… Sounds painful."

Masami nodded and wiped a tear from her eye. "Yeah… I don't really feel mad at the kid anymore… He didn't seem to think anything was wrong with him. He looked so…bubbly and filled with laughter. I was wrong, but it still hurts…" She hung her head. "Gosh Zetsu…"

Zetsu wrapped his arms around her and gave a squeeze. "Hey," he said softly. "Didn't I just say that nobody's perfect? I did. Stop beating yourself up. Just blame the fox, not the kid."

Masami nodded. "Blame the fox, not the kid—got it."

Zetsu leapt up and grabbed his sister's hand.

The siblings left the battered area, both stronger than before.

**

* * *

**

Oh man DX I'm really sorry about being gone so long! I hope you enjoyed this shiny new chapter, and sorry about it being so short! The next will be up...whenever.

**~Love, TeenageNeko**


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